Happy
by NMKK
Summary: Who knew she could ever be this happy?
1. Fine

Disclaimer: Castle belongs to ABC

There was no end to this day! She sat there hoping that the mountain of paperwork in front of her would somehow magically disappear. She heard the elevator doors open and wondered who else would be crazy enough to be here at this time of night, then again who else could it be.

"I come bearing gifts." He said as he dropped an extremely large cup of coffee onto her desk.

"Thank you." She said as she took a large sip of the coffee.

"So I see you have chosen to spend another night in the land of the midnight sun." She continued to scribble mindlessly, not paying him any attention," You know that's what they call my bedroom."

She shot him a glance that would make weaker men cry."Castle, shouldn't you be off in some fancy restaurant with a blonde bimbo?" He poked his lip out making a fake pouty face."You know, sometimes your words hurt Kate. Besides if I was with a blonde bimbo I wouldn't be able to tell you about the new Nikki Heat movie."

She worked very hard to hide her excitement. Even though she wasn't one for the lime light, she still enjoyed the publicity that the book got."So which famous bombshell are you going to get to play Nikki Heat?" "I was thinking Meghan Fox. She is so……" he paused when he realized that she was boring holes in him with her eyes.

"I was thinking that Rook could be played by Gerard Butler." She looked up at him and stifled a laugh. He gave a questioning look," What are you laughing at?" Before she had the chance to explain her phone rang.

"Beckett" Castle quickly shifted his interest to the phone call.

" I'm on my way" She closed her phone and began walking towards the elevator.

"What do we got" he said chasing after her."I have takeout food waiting for me" she said with a grin. He made his way onto the elevator with her." Well may I join you?" he asked sporting one of his famous smug grins. "What if I have a date waiting for me also?" she asked returning the smug grin."Then I would be very jealous."

She tried as hard as she could not to blush, but it happened all the same. He smiled in satisfaction.

"So I am guessing that is a yes" he said to break the silence.

"Fine" she said trying to hide her smile.


	2. Peace and Quiet

They stopped by the Chinese restaurant and picked up the food, and before she had the chance to protest he paid for their meal.

"You do realize that I am perfectly capable of paying for my own food." she said with an angry glare.

"I do realize that. Do you realize that the common reply to a kind gesture is a simple thank you" he said with a small chuckle.

"Thank you' she said with the most sarcasm she could muster up.

"What do you say we take all of this back to my place and watch a movie?"He said with hope.

"I say I have a lot of paperwork to do." He automatically put on his begging face and gave her the puppy eyes.

"Come on!!! It will be there in the morning when you get back. Pretty please?" he said with a childish voice. She gave him thought for a moment and considered his argument.

"Well, I guess you are right, but I get to pick the movie." She said trying to sound like it was painful for her to leave her mound of endless paperwork.

"That works for me, as long as it isn't some chick flick." She raised her eyebrow and scoffed. Then she grinned and began walking out of the restaurant.

"The only chick flicks I watch are the ones with Gerard Butler in them. He is so dreamy." she said as they both burst into laughter.

They pulled up to his apartment, and before she had the chance to gather her belongings he had hopped out, run to the passenger side of the car, and opened the car door for her.

"Wow" she said as she took his outstretched hand," and who said chivalry is dead?"

"So I am thinking a comedy or maybe an action movie" he said with childlike excitement.

"I thought I got to pick the movie" she said as he finished helping her out of the car.

He put his hand at his waist and gestured for her to put her arm through his. She smiled and began twirling her hair with her free hand.

"I was thinking comedy too." She said with a flirty smile.

When they finally got to his loft, they opened to door to an empty apartment. Alexis was studying with some of her friends for the night, and Martha was L.A for an acting class.

"Peace and Quiet" he said as he began sorting through all of the food.


	3. Until next time

After they ate, they moved to the living room and started a movie. They sat a common distance apart on the sofa, and shared opinions on the acting and writing.

About halfway through the movie, he moved a little closer to her and pulled the ole' yawn trick. He let out a loud fake yawn, and draped his arm around her shoulders. He braced himself for what was coming, but surprisingly she just let out a soft chuckle and laid her head on his chest.

When the movie was over he walked her to the door.

"Well Castle" she said with a small smile," I actually enjoyed that."

"I am not sure if I am supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult." He joked as he found her jacket on the coat rack and gently placed it on her.

"Seriously, I had a great time" she said as she started to open the door.

He quickly grabbed her hand from the door knob and turned her around. She looked up into his bright blue eyes, and for a moment she dropped her wall. He leaned in and got dangerously close to her.

Then it happened. The moment that they had both wondered about. He kissed her.

"Until next time" he said before placing a soft kiss on her hand.


	4. Works for me

She walked into the precinct and saw him sitting there with her normal morning coffee. Just the sight of him gave her butterflies. She thought about last night. What actually happened, and more importantly did she want it to happen again?

"Good morning detective" he said as he handed her the coffee and plopped down into his normal chair.

"Thanks" she said with a nervous smile.

She wondered how he managed to cause these feelings in her by just being around her. It scared her, but at the same time she liked the way he made her feel.

"You look tired. Did you have a late night?" he said with his typical smug grin.

She grabbed him by the ear, and pushed him into his chair.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" he exclaimed as she moved closer to his face.

"If you don't mind, and by that I mean you have no choice, keep what happened last night between us." He just smiled in response and took another sip of his coffee.

Little did they know they had undetected spectators. Ryan and Esposito had been watching closely, and listening intently. As Beckett took her seat at the desk they approached the two.

"What's up with you guys today?" Ryan said as he looked at Kate. She felt as if though he could see right through her. She felt like he knew about everything that had taken place the night before.

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Castle said before Beckett had the chance to yell at them.

"Are you sure?" Esposito said with a suspicious grin "because you guys are acting really weird."

"Positive" he said as he turned to the paperwork on Kate's desk.

They chuckled together as they walked back to their desks. Kate looked over at Castle and mouthed the words thank you. She smiled and turned her attention back to her paperwork.

That was one think that she loved about castle. He kept her guessing. Sometimes he was so annoying and obnoxious, but other times he was sweet and attentive.

After hours of paperwork he decided she needed a break.

"You want to go grab a bite to eat?" he said not really intending it to be a question.

"Let me finish this page." She said holding up her finger to keep him quiet.

Castle had a different idea. He grabbed her hands and pulled her away from the desk. She started to protest, but she was secretly happy for the excuse to get away from the precinct.

"When the captain asks me why my paperwork isn't done I will have no problem telling on you" she said with a smile. He helped her into her coat and led her to the elevator with his hand on the small of her back.

"Works for me" he said as the doors to the closed.


	5. Let's eat

They made it to the car, and they decided to go to Remy's for refueling. They sat there, and without thinking he reached over and grabbed her hand. She thought about what to do in response, but she lost the ability to think as he rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand.

She didn't understand the effect that he had on her. That is what scared her most about letting her guard down. He was almost like a drug to her. He took away her inhibitions with a simple smile.

"A penny for your thoughts?" He said with a smile. She looked over at him, and then she looked down at their hands.

"I am just wondering what we are." She said with a quizzical tone. He furrowed his brow, and looked over at her.

"That is a good question. I don't think there is an exact definition." He said as he pulled into the restaurant.

"Castle" she said with a slight pause, "If we are going to do this, I want to do it right. I don't want to screw us up." She said as he pulled into the parking space, and turned his full attention to her.

"I couldn't agree more." He said as he reached for her other hand. He looked into her eyes, and gave her a smile. She melted immediately.

"We have something that I have never had before. It is real and scary, I am willing to try my hardest to make us happen." He said as he reached up and put a hand on her face. She smiled and he placed a light kiss in her lips.

"Let's eat" they said simultaneously as they went to get out of the car.


	6. Surprise

She sat there thinking of him. She found herself doing that a lot lately. She wasn't sure how, but he had found a way the weasel his way into her mind but more importantly into her heart.

He was fixing her coffee. It was going to be a long night of staring at the murder board trying to fit together the pieces to a complicated case. She loved the considerate caring Castle, but she also loved the annoying playful Castle.

"What are you thinking?" he said as he handed her the coffee.

"What are you thinking?" she said with a playful grin.

"Ladies first." He said as he took a sip of coffee.

"Great. You choose to be a gentleman now." She said as he put his hand over his heart faking pain.

"That cut me deep." He said with a pained look on his face.

"I am thinking that I want to take you on a date. A real date where you wear a dress, and I wear a suit, and we go to a nice restaurant. A REAL date." He said as he looked into her eyes.

She smiled at him and looked away bashfully.

"I would like that" she said as she stared at the murder board.

"How about tomorrow night" he said filled with pride.

"That sounds great" she said with a grin.

He made her smile. No matter what kind of day she was having, he could pull a smile out of her.

"Pick you up at eight." He said concentrating on the murder board.

"So what kind of ridiculous theories do you have about this one? I am stumped."

She stayed up that night wondering about what would happen the next night. She knew that castle was a romantic, but what kind of date did he have planned for her? She smiled at the thought of all the possibilities.

The next day seemed to go by in slow motion. She kept a close eye on the clock filled with anticipation of what was in store. There was no way to hide her excitement. Even though she tried as hard as she could to keep her feelings to herself she couldn't.

"Are you almost finished with the paperwork for the last case?" he asked with excitement.

"I only have a few more pages" she said trying to concentrate.

"Well I think I am going to head out and get ready for our date." He said putting stress on the word date.

"Ok, I will be following shortly" she said as she flashed him a smile and turned her attention back to her paperwork.

He slowly got up and walked to the elevator. She had no idea what he had planned. He loved surprising her and boy was this a surprise.

**OOOK…. I know it is not nice to leave you hanging like this but I need some time to write a good date scene. Please review!!!**


	7. All the cards

He couldn't wait to see the look on her face. Kate thought she had everything figured out. She thought she knew everything about him, like what he was going to do for their date. He loved seeing the look on her face when he surprised her, the look of pure disbelief and annoyance. He couldn't wait to see that face.

"What should I wear?" she typed into her phone and sent it to castle as she walked out of the prescient. She walked quickly to her car and before she opened the door she received a reply.

"Do you really want me to answer that question? ;)" she smiled to herself thinking of a reply.

"I will wear sweat pants if you don't answer me soon." She wrote as she turned the car on. She sat there waiting for a reply.

"You would still be beautiful, but I have already taken care of the wardrobe. It should arrive at you apartment sometime soon." She smiled and drove off to her apartment.

Meanwhile, Castle had been busy getting ready for their date. He knew what she was expecting. He knew she was preparing herself for some extravagant night. He would wear a suit and she would wear a ridiculous dress, and she would be uncomfortable the whole night. He knew what she was expecting and he was going to give her the exact opposite.

She reached her apartment with plenty of time to get ready. She allowed herself an hour and a half to get ready which was more than enough time usually. She stepped off of the elevator onto her floor and made her way to the door. When she got inside, she saw the clothes castle had left for her.

There sat a neatly folded pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a pair of flip flops. She furrowed her brow in confusion. She walked over to the table and examined the clothing more closely. She jumped when she heard her phone ring. She looked at it, and saw that castle was calling. She flipped the phone open quickly.

"Hey." She said with a confused tone.

"Did you get what I sent to you?" he said holding back a chuckle.

"Yeah, I think so." She said obviously perplexed.

"Ok, Great! I will see you at eight." He said quickly filled with excitement.

"See you at eight." She said feeling more confused than ever. What was he up to, and should she be scared? She pondered the endless possibilities.

*About an hour later*

He drove up to her apartment. He had the biggest smile on his face. She made him happy and he wasn't afraid to admit it. He walked up to her door with flowers in hand. He rang the door bell and put on the smuggest grin he could muster up. She opened the door and he stuck out the flowers.

She gave him a once over. He was wearing jeans and a baseball t-shirt with red sleeves and a white torso. She had never seen him like this before, but she definitely liked it.

"These are for you." He said as he stepped into her apartment.

"Thank you." She said as she flashed a smile in his direction.

"Let me put these into a vase." She said turning to her kitchen.

"I see you got the clothes I sent." He said as he examined his surroundings.

"Yep." She said trying her best to sound uninterested.

"You ready to go?" he asked smiling at her. She nodded her head and grabbed a jacket.

"Wait." He said as he grabbed her arm. He said as he swung her around and grabbed something out of his pocket.

"You need to put this on." He said as he held out a blindfold.

She shot him a look that made him laugh. She lifted one eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"You must be joking." She said with an angry look on her face.

"Please, I promise to behave. I want it to be a surprise." He looked at her and poked out his lip like a begging child. She couldn't help laughing. As hard as she tried to put on a tough front, she couldn't hide her feelings for him.

"Fine." She said turning around so he could put on the blindfold.

"Thank you." He said letting his hands trail down her back.

"Now, we are ready to go." He said as he grabbed her hand and led her to the car.

"Soooooo." She said letting her voice trail off. "Where are we going?" she said casually.

"Nice try, but I'm not telling you." He said in a mocking voice.

She huffed and pouted. She hated not having control, and at this moment Castle had all the cards.

**This is a longer chapter, since i made you wait so long. I will have the actual date chapter up soon. Sorry for leaving you hanging once again. :)**


	8. We don't need music

She knew they were on some type of main road. She could hear the cars, and the obnoxious sound of honking horns. She felt Castle's hand rest on top of hers and he gave it a light squeeze.

"Why do you seem so nervous?" he said letting out a small chuckle.

"I'm not nervous." She shot back trying to hide the fact that not being in control was driving her insane.

They continued driving for a while, but she knew from the lack of noise they were off the main road. They talked about the usual. He made stupid jokes, she pretended that they were funny, and they continued this for the rest of the trip.

She felt the car come to a slow stop. He put it into park and quickly hopped out and ran to the other side. He opened the door, took her hand, and slowly walked her to the edge of what she thought was grass.

"I guess I can take the blindfold off now." He said obviously trying to annoy her.

"You guess?" she said sounding surprised.

"Well, you are allowed…..never mind." He said reaching for her blind fold. He untied the blind fold, and he saw the face. The face she made when he had truly surprised her. He smiled.

She looked out and saw nothing. They were in the middle of nowhere. She looked down and saw a blanket stretched out over the grass, complete with picnic basket, and wine glasses. Then the question ran through her mind. How does he do it? How does he know exactly what to do? At that moment she realized that she would never find the answer to that question.

He reached out and took her hand and they walked over to the picnic.

"So, what do you think?" he said sounding hopeful.

"This looks great." She said smiling at him. He turned eighteen shades of red.

"Where exactly are we? "She said as she held a glass for him to pour wine into.

"That is my little secret." He said with a wink. She accepted this answer mainly because she lost the desire to argue when she smelled the food.

"For tonight's events we have a delicious chicken marinara." He said with a terrible French accent. She couldn't help laughing.

"You know that is probably the worst French accent I have ever heard." She said taking a bite of her pasta.

"That cut me deep." He said laughing.

They ate and flirted until they were full.

"Hey. Do you want to dance?" he said as he put down his wine glass.

"There is no music." She said with a chuckle.

"So, we will make our own music." He said with a smile. "Come on." He reached out his hand and helped her up. He pulled her up and led her over to a small opening in the field. He started humming softly, and he pulled her closer to him.

"See we don't need music." He said smiling down at her. She smiled back at him and rested her head on her shoulder. She fit into his arms perfectly.

**Well, I hope you liked it. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! **


	9. Laughing at themselves

She woke up the next morning to the sound of a ringing cell phone. Nothing could wipe the smile off of her face, no matter how rude her wake-up call was. She felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. She was truly happy.

"Beckett." She said through her smile.

"You sound mighty chipper this morning." The captain said with a surprised tone.

"What's up?" she asked trying to change the subject.

"We have a murder suicide, call castle and get here as soon as possible." He said as if he was preoccupied.

"Why would you think I would want to call Castle?" she shot back obviously trying to hide something.

"Probably because you two kind of work together" he said questioningly.

"Oh, yeah, right." She spat as he gave her the address to the crime scene.

"See you soon." She said as she hung up and immediately called Castle.

"Good morning sunshine!" he said to her full of excitement.

"You know at this hour, I would expect a normal person to be half asleep." She said with a chuckle.

"Kate, you should know by now I am far from normal." He said, making her smile.

"I can't argue with you there." She said as she reached for the pad with the crime scene information.

"Well, as you know the only reason I would call you at this hour is about a case." She said concentrating on the information the captain had given her.

"What is it?" he said switching into intense mode.

"A murder suicide." She said while rushing around to get her stuff together.

"Well I will meet you there." She said stopping to concentrate on the conversation they were having.

"Okay, I will see you there." He said through a smile.

"Bye." They said simultaneously, laughing at themselves.


	10. She never thought it would happen

He walked up to the chaotic mob of people. He lifted the yellow tape and plashed his "badge".

"What took you so long?" she said.

"Well" he said trying to stall.

"You got lost again?" she said with fake sympathy. He hung his head in shame, which resulted in both of them bursting into laughter.

"Wow." He said looking at the scene.

"Yeah, I know." She said as they sat there communicating wordlessly. The crime scene was processed and the group headed back to the prescient. It was pretty much an open and shut case, but they just had to fill out some paperwork.

A few hours later they sat there at her desk, she was filling out paperwork, and he was watching her like a hawk.

"You know this is where it all started." He said taking her attention away from the paperwork.

"What do you mean?" she said looking up at him giving him her full attention.

"I mean that this is where it all started. This is where we started. We were at this desk doing this very same thing." He said reminiscing. She smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him.

"I think I can finish this in the morning." She said with an evil grin. He shot back an equally evil smile.

"Well, do you want to go watch a movie?" he said sounding hopeful.

"Only if I get to pick the movie." She said quoting what she said on that fateful night.

"Works for me." He said also quoting himself. They walked out of the prescient hand in hand.

They decided to back to her place and order some Chinese. They sat there eating, talking, and laughing.

"What movie do you want to watch?" he said looking at his collection of movies.

"I have decided to be nice and let you decide." She said walking up to him and putting her hands on his shoulders.

"What to watch, what to watch?" he said looking at his movies. She slowly moved her hands up and down his back. He looked over his shoulder, and flashed her a sly grin.

"If you keep that up, there will be no movie." He said turning his attention back to the movies. She laughed and walked over to the sofa and plopped down right in the middle.

They finally decided on a movie, and sat there together laughing, criticizing the acting, and enjoying each other's company. About an hour into the movie, he noticed her nodding off. He chuckled softly, and slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Do you want to go to bed?" he asked stroking her hair softly.

"I'm not asleep." She said burying her face in his chest.

"I know you aren't asleep, but you are sleepy, so I will ask again do you want me to help you to bed?" he said turning around to lift her.

"I guess so." She said through a yawn.

He lifted her slowly, and carried her to her bed. He set her down, and kissed her forehead. What happened next wasn't something he expected. He also thought he had her figured out, but it was moments like these that he was pleasantly surprised. Every time she surprised him he learned something new about her, which was something he loved doing.

She slowly reached up and grabbed his arm.

"Stay." She said pulling him towards her. He smiled and slowly lay down beside her. He wrapped his arm around her and they fell asleep.

The next morning, they woke up in each other's arms. She thought about what had taken place over the past few weeks. She never thought it would happen.

***PLEASE REVIEW!!!! Thank you to all my readers. Since I haven't written in a while, I decided to write a long one ****.**


	11. Around eight

She got out of bed and smelled something amazing. She walked into her kitchen to inspect the delicious aroma.

"What's this?" she said letting out a yawn.

"This is breakfast. I was going to make bacon and eggs but there is nothing in your refrigerator but a few soy sauce packets." He said as he flipped a pancake onto a plate.

"Wow." She said drifting over towards him and picking off a piece of the pancake.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked through a smug grin.

"Yes, in fact that was the best sleep I have gotten in a while." She said placing her hand on his shoulder, looking at what he was doing.

"I am so glad I could be of assistance." He said as he turned around and placed a kiss on her lips.

"You know I think I have some chocolate chips in the cupboard." She said walking swiftly to the cabinet.

"That sounds great." he said as he continued to cook the pancakes.

They sat and talked and ate as they usually did.

"What do you have planned to do this afternoon?" he said with a mouthful of pancakes.

"Well, I have to go finish that paperwork, but other than that nothing." She said concentrating on her food.

"I was thinking if you don't have any plans, we could go out to eat with Alexis." He said as if he were afraid to hear the response.

"That sounds great!" she said still eating her pancakes.

"Great!" he said sounding relieved.

"What time should I be ready?" she said giving him her full attention.

"Around eight." He said pushing food around on his plate.


	12. Shall we?

"So exactly how serious are you and Detective Beckett?" Alexis asked while helping her father pick out an outfit.

"Well you are smart, you can determine how serious we are tonight." He said chuckling.

"Red or purple?" he asked holding up two ties to his chest.

"Purple!" she said taking the red tie and putting back in the closet.

"You are a genius." He said tying the tie.

"Who knows where I get it from." She said grabbing her things.

"You ready?" he said putting his coat on.

"I was born ready." She said taking his arm.

Meanwhile, she sat there more nervous than she had ever been before. She thought that a night with Castle and his daughter would be completely fun and stress free but she was wrong. While getting ready she realized how serious this was. She had never done this before. She had never been serious enough with a guy to meet his family. She had met Alexis before, and she was a great kid, but it meant something this time.

**In reply to one of the comments to the last chapter, you can write in your own part to the story. I like to leave some to the REVIEW :)**

Right in the middle of her thought, the doorbell rang. She hopped up and pushed the wrinkles out of her dress. She took a minute to breath and calm down before walking swiftly to the door. She opened the door and saw Castle, and his red headed daughter.

"Hello." She said reaching up and grabbing her coat.

"Hey detective Beckett!"Alexis said reaching her arms out for a hug. She attacked Kate, and squeezed her tightly. Beckett was tense at first, but she relaxed as soon as she saw castle's smile. He had the proud father smile on his face, and it made her smile. She loved seeing him like this.

Alexis released her death grip on Kate, and she smiled at her. Kate began to wonder why she had been so nervous. Alexis was a great kid, and she knew it would be a great night.

"Shall we?" He said holding out both of his arms for them.


	13. No response

"What are you getting" he said sounding confused while looking at the menu.

"I have no clue, it all looks good." Alexis said staring looking perplexed. Kate looked at both of them, and chuckled. Like father like daughter she thought.

"You too are so much alike it is scary." Kate said with a huge grin.

"I really don't know weather to take that as a compliment or an insult." Alexis said letting out a loud burst of laughter. Castle put his hand over his heart, and made a pained face, then also began laughing.

"This is no fair you two can't team up on me! I will definitely lose." He said reaching over and grabbing Kate's hand. Alexis looked down at their hands and smiled. She hadn't seen her dad this happy in a long time. They spent the rest of the night laughing and talking, and eating.

"Thank you." He said as he handed the waiter the paid bill.

"Is everyone ready?" he asked looking at them both. They nodded, and stood up from the table.

"That was delicious." Kate said as she walked through the door he had opened for her.

"It sure was." Alexis said also making her way through the door. They walked to the car and he reached for his keys. As soon as he found them in his pocket, he felt something cold on the side of his head.

"Hands up." An unknown voice said. He felt the object push harder against his head.

"Okay, let's take it easy." Castle said slowly raising his hands above his head.

"I will take it easy when I have your wallet Mr. Castle." the man said in a harsh whisper. Castle looked over at Alexis and Kate. They were both standing there silently. Alexis was obviously scared out of her mind, and Kate was trying to keep her composure but still showing signs of fear.

"You can have anything you want just calm down." He said trying to push the image of a gun at his temple out of his mind.

"Don't tell me what to do!" the man said pushing him against the car and slamming his head into the door. Alexis let out a shriek and began crying hysterically. Kate gasped and began walking slowly towards the armed man.

"Don't come any closer or I will blow his brains out!" he said nervously. She stood still and held her hands above her head.

"Just take the money and go." Castle said trying to focus.

"You" he said pointing his gun at Kate and Alexis," put your hands on the car" he said wiping his forehead.

"Okay." Kate said moving slowly.

Then it happened. Castle moved his head backwards trying to his the man. He knocked him on the ground and fought desperately to get the gun from him. The sound of a gunshot rang in the air. Kate rushed to Castle's side and that was when she saw it, a growing red stain in Castle's Chest.

"Dad!" Alexis screamed running to him.

"Alexis I need you to get out your cell phone and call 911." Kate said slowly and calmly. The unknown man was long gone. Alexis quickly reached into her purse and grabbed her cell phone. She fumbled with the buttons and eventually got the right number. Kate quickly removed her jacket and held it to the gunshot wound.

"Kate." He said going in and out of consciousness. She ran her free hand through his hair and moved closer to his face so she could hear him.

"I need to tell you something important." He said wincing in pain.

"What is that?" she said beginning to cry.

"I love you." He said slowly. She reached down and grabbed his hand.

"I love you too." She said her vision clouded by tears. She felt his grip tighten on her hand, and then slowly weaken. She heard sirens blaring in the distance, and tried her best to keep pressure on the wound. Alexis moved quickly and grabbed his hand.

"Hey sweetie." He said trying his best to smile at her.

"You're going to be ok Dad." She said her voice breaking.

"Of course I am." He said trying to reassure her and himself.

Kate looked at him, as he slowly faded. She moved her hand to his face and slowly rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

"Rick." She said trying to get him to respond. There was no response.


	14. Deal

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Everything that is, except for the shooting. She sat there in the waiting room surrounded by all of her friends and colleagues. Alexis sat beside her resting her head on her shoulder.

"Kate, why won't they tell us anything?" Alexis said lifting her head from Kate's shoulder. Kate looked over and smiled a reassuring smile.

"They will tell us when they know anything. He will be fine." She said placing her hand on her arm. Alexis returned the smile, and rested her head on Kate's shoulder again. Kate tried her best to keep herself calm. She could usually control her emotions, but she was having a hard time. The man she loved was hanging on by a thread and there was nothing she could do to help. With that thought came a terrible feeling. It was the feeling of complete and total helplessness. She had no control over what happened and it scared her to death.

"Detective Beckett." The doctor said interrupting her thought. Everyone in the waiting room moved at once to get closer and hear about Castle's condition.

"How is he." She said standing to face the doctor.

"The surgery to remove the bullet was successful. It was very close to his heart. He was really lucky." The doctor said with a calm collected voice.

"Can we go see him?" Alexis asked anxiously.

"Sure you can. He is still groggy, but I think he can take a few visitors." The doctor said with a smile. The doctor led Alexis to his room, while Kate stayed behind and waited.

Alexis moved slowly through the door, and inched closer to her father.

"Hey dad." She said pulling up a chair by his hospital bed. He slowly opened his eyes, and a huge smile began to form on his face.

"Hey." He said with a raspy voice.

"How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" she said franticly.

"I'm fine." He said with a chuckle. She smiled, happy to see that he was laughing.

"You do realize you scared me to death? She said with a grin.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience." He said with a laugh. While they talked, Kate watched outside of the window. Just seeing his face made her happy, seeing his smile and hearing his laugh. She moved into the door way, and watched them laugh and joke.

"Well hello there." He said to her snapping her out of the trance she was in. Alexis smiled and stood up from her seat.

"I think I am going to go grab a snack." She said as she made her way out of the room. Kate walked over and sat down on the side of his bed.

"So how was that for a date night." He said with a smile.

"Definitely the most interesting date I have ever had." She said returning his smile. He slowly reached for her hand. She fought to keep her tears back.

"You have to promise never to scare me like that again." She said as her voice broke. He held out his arms and wrapped her in a hug. He stoked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Everything is ok, I am fine." He whispered softly into her ear. They sat there and he held her tightly for what seemed like forever.

"I Love you Kate." He said wiping a tear from her cheek.

"I love you too, but if you ever do anything like this again I will be forced to inflict some serious pain on you." She said laughing through her sobs.

"Deal." He said resting his head on top of hers.

*** Soooooo..... Since i waited so long to update, I figured i should give you a few long chapters. Please review and let me know what you think about the sudden turn of events. Thanks to all of my readers!**


	15. We'll see about that

Weeks passed, and Castle recovered quickly, or as quickly as could be expected. Of course Kate was by his side every second possible, other than the times that she absolutely had to work. During his recovery, their relationship had taken a back seat. There were not anymore romantic evenings dancing under the stars, or romancing in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant. She had been spending so much time trying to get him better that she had no time for them.

"Hey there." castle whispered as he walked up behind her washing dishes in the kitchen. "Maybe you should leave the dishes for later." he said placing kisses along the curve of her neck.

"Rick, you know you aren't ready for that." she said continuing to scrub the dishes.

"Kate, My doctor said i am healing quickly. I think it will be ok." he said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I don't want you to hurt yourself." she said coldly as she pulled away from his hold. He stood there obviously hurt by her tone. He leaned back against the counter and stared at her.

"What's going on Kate." he asked as she continued to preoccupy herself with the dishes. "Do you not want to spend time with me? Every time I offer to take you on a date, or do something for us you say no. What am I doing wrong?" he asked reaching for her arm.

She quickly jerked her arm away from him, and turned to face him.

"Nothing is wrong Castle. I just don't want you to over-do it." she said obviously annoyed. "Just get some rest." she said returning to her work. He wondered why she called him Castle. She had called him Rick ever since they started dating.

"I have been resting for weeks Kate. I want to take you out, and spend some time alone together outside of this apartment. What is going on? Why won't you talk to me?" he said sounding hurt. She threw the dishes into the sink and shook her hands off. She grabbed the edge of the counter as if it were the only thing holding her up.

"Castle." she forced out through her teeth. "There is nothing wrong, and I am talking to you right now. The only thing that I want from you is for you to get better." she said swallowing hard and not turning to face him.

"I don't believe you." he said pacing back and forth. "Ever since that night in the hospital, you have been distant and cold. I want to know what's wrong Kate. How can I fix it?" he said desperately.

"There's nothing you can do!" she said turning to face him. "Not everything can be fixed by your charm and good looks Rick." she said loudly.

"Is this about the accident?" he said remaining calm even though she obviously was not.

"Why do people keep calling it that?" she said through a sob. "You were shot Rick. You were shot, and there was nothing I could do to protect you. I couldn't do anything about it." she said crossing her arms to add a layer of protection to her exposed self.

"Kate, I didn't expect you to protect me. You can't save everyone." he said moving close to her.

"I should have done something. I am a cop Castle; I am trained to protect people. I don't think I can do this. I don't think I can lose someone else." she said dropping her eyes to the floor. At that moment, he knew exactly why she had been pushing him away. She was afraid of being left again. First it was her mother, and now he had been near death. He didn't know what to do other than pull her into a hug. He reached for her and as he did tears started to roll down her face.

"It's not your fault Rick. It's mine. I am the one with the problem, not you." she said through her tears. She nuzzled into his chest.

"Kate you don't have a problem. I understand. I mean i don't understand, but i see where you are coming from. I can't say that i understand, because i haven't..." she leaned back and placed a finger over his lips.

"You're rambling." she said with a small smile. "I'm sorry Rick. I guess I was just scared you know. I was scared of losing you. When I saw you hit the ground on that street, all I could think was that I was going to lose you too. It's like every person that i love is being taken away from me." she said as he wiped a tear from her cheek.

"So you thought that distancing yourself from me would keep you from getting hurt." he said taking her face in his hands. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. Obviously it takes more than a bullet to take me down." he said kissing her forehead.

"Thank you." she said leaning up to place a soft kiss on his lips. "It may take a while, but I will work on it." she said giving him another soft kiss. The kiss deepened, and before they knew it they had tumbled onto the couch.

"I thought I was too weak for this." he said leaning back against the back of the couch.

"We'll see about that." she said giggling and leaning in for another kiss.

**Okay, I know that i have neglected this story for like a year, but for some reason i felt the need to return to it. Sorry about that. Reviews are very much appreciated. Let me know what you think.**


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